Diary of a Farmer
by kiraracat14
Summary: Jack's Grandfather unexpectedly wills his farm to Jack. Jack can stay on the farm but there are two conditions. 1 Jack must make the farm prosper and 2 he has to find a bride. But which of the five girls is the little girl he befriended years ago?
1. Prologue

Diary of a Farmer

Disclaimer: I do not own the Harvest moon characters.

Author's notes: Hey everybody this is my fist Harvest Moon fic so don't be too hard on me, ok. Well here it goes.

Prologue

Jack stared out the window of the car watching the city fade into the horizon. The trees became more plentiful as they drove on , the pavement became rougher and rougher until the road was nothing but gravel. The car turned onto a narrow road which lead to Mineral Town. Mineral town was in a quaint little place in the middle of a small valley. Only about 40 people lived in Mineral town the last time Jack had visited but he doubted the population had changed.

Jack's father stopped the car in front of his now late father's farm house. We're here Jack's father announced as he put the car in park. Jack got out car straitening his black suit. The trees had grown, he noticed as he looked around. The once well kept beautiful farm that was his grandfathers now looked nothing like the farm Jack remembered from hid childhood. The red paint on the large barn was so chipped the barn was no longer red. The fertile fields that once had been covered with green leaves and colorful crops were now covered with weeds, sticks, and stones. The sight of the farms run down condition made Jack want to cry. The tears welled up in his eyes and his throat burned as he tried to hold them back.

Jack's mother a tall slender soft eyed women placed her hand on her son's shoulder. "Are you alright Jack?" she said softly. Jack nodded and wiped his eyes. How silly it must look for someone his age to be crying.

A short round mustached man in a tall red hat came through the gate and went over to Jack's father. "You must be the old farmer's family, I'm the mayor of Mineral Town, My name is Thomas." The man extended his hand a Jack's father took it. "Yes we are, I'm his son, James." James pointed to his family. "My wife Rose, and our son Jack." "I'm terribly sorry for your loss." Thomas said sincerely "He was a very kind man and a hard worker. We found his will among his possessions. Its seems he willed the farm to your son, Jack."

Both Jack and his parents were shocked by his grandfather's strange decision. "The will said." continued Thomas "That upon his death the farm belongs to Jack." "I hate to say this but we're going to have to sell the farm." said James sadly. We all live in the city and couldn't take care of it; farming is a full time job." "And Jack still lives with us." Rose added. There she goes again, thought Jack. His mother always rubbed in the fact he was twenty two and still living with his parents. It was because they didn't trust him, they had protecting him from failure all his life; they were always making sure he didn't make any mistakes, always making decisions for him. Jack didn't know why, but at that moment he decided his parent's wouldn't make his decisions anymore.

"We don't have to sell the farm." Jack said suddenly "I'll take care of it." His parents paused for a moment. His mother frowned slightly and put her hand on his shoulder. "Jack, darling, I know you liked playing on the farm when you were young but, a farm is a lot of work. You've never worked a day in your life." Jack brushed his mothers hand away. "Mayor Thomas, can't I stay?" said Jack. Thomas looked Jack in the eye and shook his head. "I don't think it's a good idea, your mother's right." Jack was tired of his parents being right all the time, always telling him what was best for him. Jack's throat was burning again but he wasn't going to cry, not this time. "It's my farm now, I want to do this." Jack said determinedly "We'll talk to the Mayor about it, alright?" said James. Jack nodded and his parents and Thomas entered the small little farm house to discuss the matter.

Jack stayed outside. He sat down in the grass next to the old garden where the flowers had long since died and stared into the clouds. It was about half an hour before they emerged from the house. Jack had fallen asleep and was lying peacefully in the grass. His mother bent down and shook him gently. Jack slowly rose to his feet rubbing his eyes. "We're going to let you stay." James said. Jack's eyes widened and he smiled. "Really." He said in disbelief. "There are a few conditions." Said Thomas "First, you have to fix up the farm and return it to its former state and raise healthy crops and livestock and…" Rose interrupted "I want you to get married." This last statement shocked Jack quite a bit. "I want you make a good life for yourself and get married." "How long do I have to do all this?" Jack asked. "Two years." Said James "If you haven't fixed up the farm and gotten married at the end of two years your coming back to the city with us."

Jack nodded. "Alright." "Good." said James. "Let's go home and pack you're things."

Authors notes: Well what do you think so far. The story's going to focus on Jack's relationship with the girls. Any suggestions? Comments? Let me know. Thanks for reading. I hope to update real soon.


	2. ch 1

Diary of a Farmer

Chapter 1

Jack woke up early the next morning. Today was Jack's first official day on the farm. He made himself with the few groceries he had; cereal and milk. After Jack finished his bowl of cereal he went out onto the porch and surveyed the farm. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. For a moment in his mind he could see the farm as it was. Cows grazing contently in the pasture, the field full of newly planted seeds beginning to sprout…Jack's dream was ended abruptly when he opened his eyes and saw now all the work that needed to be done. Jack turned his blue hat around and tightened the straps of his jean overall's, let's get to work, he said to himself.

Jack decided the first thing he would fix up is the field. I need the field to plant crops in so I'd better clear it up first. He could pick the weeds by hand but he needed a axe to chop up the wood and stumps in the field, a large hammer to break up the stones so he could throw them in the river, that ran south of the farm, and a hoe to till the soil after he had cleared the land. Thomas had said there were still a few tools in the old tool shed so Jack went to look for what he needed. When Jack went to open the old rotting wooded door it came loose from its hinges and almost fell on Jack. He recovered form the shock of almost being flattened momentarily and entered the shed. There were tools in the shed but Jack was quite disappointed at the sight of them. The tools hadn't been used in years and beginning to rust. There was hoe, a hammer, a small watering can, and a dull axe and sickle. It could be worse, Jack thought. It was better than having no tools. Jack took out the axe, hoe, and hammer and headed back to the field. I'll chop up the stumps and branches and first, Jack decided, he could use the wood he chopped up for fire wood.

Jack lifted the axe over his head and brought it down on with all his strength but only made a small dent in the large stump. "Aww man!" Jack said out loud "This is a lot harder than I thought." Jack, after only one try was frustrated. But then Jack imagined his mother looking at him, saying once again "I told you so. Why don't you listen to me Jack, I know what's best for you." The thought of letting his mother say those words one more time was enough to make Jack pick up the axe again, and again, and again.

By the end of the day Jack had cleared almost the whole field and was exhausted. Jack tried to lift the axe one more time but dropped it and let himself fall into the dirt beside it. He looked over at the wood shed and the tall pile of wood he had stacked in front of it. Jack smiled to himself. "My first day of real work." He still had one last corner of the field to finish, but it would take him at least two hours and he was too worn out to start. I'll finish tomorrow, he thought.

The sun had just begun to set when a tall muscular man with tall brown hair walked through the gate and towards a large box at the corner of the field. "Can I help you?" said Jack, confused "I'm Zack" the tall man said "I'm here to take the produce from your shipping box." Produce? Shipping box? Jack was confused. Zack shook his head and sighed. "You put what you want to sell in the shipping box over here." He said "You can ship your crops, milk, eggs, etc. I come everyday at five to pick up shipments. I'll ship it to town and bring you the money. Simple, right?" Jack nodded. "Yeah, ok, but its my first day so I don't have anything to ship, sorry you had to come out here." "Its ok" said Zack. "You should go buy seeds and plant them as soon as possible. If you plant them too late they'll cross into the next season and die, so all the money you spent was wasted. Don't want that to happen." "Thanks" said Jack "I'll remember that." "You can buy seeds at the supermarket in the northern part of town. You shouldn't have trouble finding it." Zack said.

Jack thanked Zack once again for his help then went back to the farm house. Jack was hungry but too tired to fix dinner so he just put on his pajama's and crawled into bed. He was asleep almost instantly.


	3. ch 2

Diary of a Farmer

Chapter 2

That night Jack dreamt of his last summer in Mineral Town. His Grandfather had been especially busy that summer and had rarely found time to play with Jack, but strangely it was one of Jacks most memorable summers on the farm. Through the night he relived the memories one by one. The time the he agitated the rooster and it chased him across the yard, When he watched his grandfathers cow give birth. But the memory that seemed to stick out in his mind the most was his last day on the farm. Grandpa had gone to town with his produce and Jack was left by himself to play on the farm. He decided to leave the farm and go exploring on Mothers hill.

He was wandering around the waterfall when Jack heard a small noise coming from the bushes. At first Jack thought it was some small animal. Grandpa had warned him about the wild dogs that lived in the mountains and told him to be careful when he was alone. Jack held his breath, a dog? He thought. No, it didn't sound like one. Jack was curious now and pushed away the branches. There was a little girl his age there, she was crying.

The little girl stopped crying and looked at Jack, not bothering to wipe away her tears. Jack didn't know what to do, the girl just sat there staring at him with large teary eyes. Finally Jack spoke. "He...hey, umm…are you ok?" The little girl just kept staring. "Do…do you want to play, with me?" Jack asked. The girl just nodded and wiped the tears of her face. Jack took her hand and helped her out of the bushes. He looked around for a place he thought she would like to play, for some reason he wanted to cheer her up more than anything right now.

Jack saw a patch of pink cat flowers growing on the side of the hill, girls like flowers right? He thought to himself. "Do you like pink cat flowers?" he asked her. "The girl was silent for a moment "They're my favorite." She said quietly. "Great." Jack said "Let's go play over there."

She nodded and they walked over and sat in the flowers. Jack remembered that his kindergarten class had made flower headbands during arts and crafts time and wondered if he could remember how to make them. He immediately picked a few flowers and started weaving them together. The girl sat next to Jack her large eyes watching his hands as he weaved the flowers together. Soon he had a small wreath of pink cat flowers just big enough to fit his head. He held the up the wreath proud of his work. "What do you think?" he asked. "Pretty." Jack took the wreath and placed it on her head. "There yours." The little girl smiled widely

They sat in the flowers a little longer silently enjoying the warm sun and cool breeze. The girl turned around at looked at mother's hill. "Can we go to the top?" she asked timidly. "Sure." Jack helped her up and they headed up the path to the top of the hill. Along the way she spotted some wild strawberries growing off the path. "Look, strawberries, my favorite!" she ran of the path and started picking and eating the berries. "Try one." She said handing Jack a berry. Jack had eaten wild strawberries with his grandfather before but for some reason they had never tasted this sweet.

It was beautiful at the top of Mothers hill. You could stare down a peaceful Mineral Town or at the surrounding mountains, both sights were beautiful. Jack had only been to the top once before but couldn't remember it. The girl started to hum and Jack looked at her. "Is it ok if I sing?" she asked shyly. Jack nodded and she started to sing a little song Jack had never heard before. It was probably a song she had made up herself just then but Jack liked the sound of her sweet voice. Time flew by and soon he could hear his parents and grandfather calling him from the bottom of the hill. Jack stood up and so did the little girl. "I have to go now." Jack said sadly. "My parents are here to take me home, back to the city." "No!" she cried. "Don't leave. "I promise I'll come back someday." He said "You promise?"

"I promise."

"I promise."

"I promise."

The dream little by little began to fade and Jack soon fond himself back in bed in the farm house under his grandfather's old faded quilt. I wonder, thought Jack. Is she still here?

Author's notes: Well there's chapter 2. In the end Jack will end up with the little girl he met, but who should she be? I'm going to introduce the girls in the next few chapters, if you don't know them already. I'm still deciding which girl she should be so if you have any ideas please review and tell me. Thank you.


	4. ch 3

Diary of a Farmer

Chapter 3

Jack had already decided that he was going to take the day off from work and go into town to do some shopping. He would get some seeds so when the field was clear he would be able to plant as soon as possible and he needed groceries. His parents had left him an envelope with some money in it the day he moved in and Jack now wondered how much money they had left. He opened the envelope and was disappointed to find only 2,000 g. His allowance back home had been at least 10,000 g a week but was on his own now and couldn't expect handouts anymore. He'd be alright, how much did seeds cost anyway?

Jack got dressed, and ate his breakfast before seven o clock and was ready to head to the store. He checked to make sure he had his money and headed for the supermarket. Finding the super market was a little harder than he had thought it would be. Jack was only on the second street and was lost. A man picking grapes in a small vineyard caught his eye, maybe I should ask for directions. "Excuse me." Jack said "Can you help me; I'm trying to find the supermarket." The man turned around. He was older, forties or fifties maybe with black hair with streaks of gray. "You're the new farmer, Mayor Thomas told everybody in town bout you, says we should make you feel welcome." Jack nodded." Where's the supermarket? I need directions."

"Directions?" said the man "A real man don't need no directions." He said laughing. "Its just up the street, ya can't miss it." "Ummmm…Thanks." Said Jack "Oh, Hey!" said the man as Jack had started to walk away. "My name's Duke, meet me at the Inn later tonight, we'll have a drink." Jack nodded and continued walking.

He was still quite lost, the mans directions had left much to be desired so Jack decided he ask someone else. There were three women standing in the middle of what Jack thought must be me town square so he decided to ask them. As he started to approach the women stopped talking and looked at him. "I need directions." Jack said a women with black hair and a blue dress seemed to think something was funny and started laughing. "What do you know, a man know asks for directions." She said "My Duke wouldn't ask for directions if his life depended on it, He says "A real man doesn't need directions." She continued laughing and the other two women joined her. "That sounds just like Duke." Said one of them "Where do you want to go?" said the women with light brown hair. "The supermarket." Jack replied. "I'm Sasha." said the women. "My husband Jeff and I run the Super market, I'll take you there." Jack nodded "Thank you very much."

Jack followed Sasha down the road and past the church to the supermarket. "Thanks again." said Jack as he opened the door to go in. Sasha smiled and headed back to the square. "Welcome." said a friendly voice as Jack entered the supermarket. The voice had come from a small smiling man with black hair and a mustache. Jack smiled and went over to a counter that had bags of seeds sitting on it. Each bag had a picture of what type of seed was in it. Jack picked up a bag with an ear of corn on it. Corn sounds good, he thought.

"No, not that bag." Jack turned around to saw a beautiful brown haired girl in shorts and a vest walking toward him. She took the bag from him and set it back down on the counter. "Corn only grows in the summer." She said "If you plant it now the seeds won't grow. You have to plant the right seeds in the right season to get them to grow. Try Potatoes, Turnips, cucumbers, and Strawberries in the spring. Ok" "Thanks." said Jack "I'm Karen, my parents run the supermarket." "I'm Jack."

Jack finished his shopping and Karen took him to the back of the store where she and her live and they talked until the store closed at six o clock. "It was great talking to you." Karen said as Jack headed out back towards the farm. "Lets get together again, ok." "Ok." Jack hollered back from down the road. Karen sure was great. Could she be the little girl I met? Jack wondered.

Jack was greeted with a big surprise. When he had left the farm house it had been pretty dirty. Dust everywhere because he hadn't gotten around to cleaning it off, the bed unmade, and breakfast dishes still in the sink from yesterday and today. But now there was no dust, a made bed, and clean dishes. There was a delicious looking pie sitting in the kitchen next to a note in girls hand writing.

Dear Farmer Jack,

I hope you don't mind I cleaned the place up a little. I dropped by to give you a welcoming gift and you weren't home. The door wasn't locked so I decided to leave it inside. Like I said I hope you don't mind I came in. I'll visit you later.

Your neighbor at the poultry ranch.

Popuri

Popuri, Jack thought. I'll go thank her tomorrow. Jack then remembered he said he would meet Duke at the Inn for a drink. Jack had spent all of his money at the store on seeds and food except for about 100 g, just enough for a drink.

Jack didn't really feel like going back into town, but he had promised the man. When Jack entered the Inn he was surprised to find it quite full. Duke was there waiting when he arrived and motion for Jack to join him at the bar. Jack walked over to the bar and sat on the stool next to Duke. Jack would have rather been in bed than at the Inn, but just then a girl walked over to where he and Duke were sitting. "What would you two like?" she asked. Jack didn't answer; he just stared at the girl. She had red hair braided tied up in a ponytail, and wore plain overalls; she was very cute. "Two glasses of red wine" answered Duke. The girl nodded and went to pour their drinks.

"You like her?" asked Duke, nudging Jack. Before Jack could answer the girl came back and left their drinks on the bar. "Her name's Ann." said Duke. Ann, Jack thought, what a nice name.

Authors notes: Thank you so much for your reviews and I hope you continue reading.


	5. ch 4

Diary of a Farmer

Chapter 4

Author's notes: Hi everyone, so sorry it's taken so long to update. I'm preparing for my families big trip to Japan and China. I'm really excited, I'm making one of the outfits I'm taking so I've been sewing. Finished the purse so far. To Tycat92 and Hyper Kitty I too deleted my game tear I was so close to the end of A Wonderful Life, My son was grown and everything, I had to start over. Well here's chapter 4. Enjoy.

Jack stayed out late that night chatting with Duke and Ann; he had a wonderful time. Jack got home around two o'clock in the morning and went straight to bed.

As a result of staying out so late last night Jack woke up late the next morning it was almost ten. Jack got up and got dressed to go finish clearing the field, but the sight of the pie sitting on the counter reminded him he should go thank Popuri. Jack pulled out the small map of Mineral Town Duke had drawn for him last night to prevent him from getting lost again.

Popuri had said in her note she lived at the Poultry Farm. Jack looked up the Poultry Farm on the map and saw it wasn't too far from his farm. He put the map in his pocket and left the house.

Jack was almost to the Poultry Farm when a small white chicken came running down the road toward him. Jack bent over and caught the loose chicken. "What are you doing out here." Jack said. The chicken was probably from the Poultry Ranch, he thought. When he looked up again there was a young pink-haired girl running toward him. She was wearing a long red skirt and a purple top; she looked terribly out of breath. She stopped in front of Jack breathing hard. "You…found…Flower…"she said breathing between her words "Thank…You…Jack." How did she know his name? Jack thought, who was she? "I'm Popuri, Mayor Thomas told me about you." she said seeming to read Jack's mind. So she was Popuri.

"I'm so glad you caught Flower." Popuri said "She's my favorite chicken, I don't know what I would have done if I'd lost her." Flower clucked and nibbled Popuri's finger affectionately. "Do you like chickens?" she asked. "Yeah, they're nice." Jack replied. Popuri smiled. "That's great. Why don't you come over to the ranch for a little while and meet my family, we are neighbors." Jack nodded "I'd love too."

No sooner had they entered the gate when an older red-haired boy came walking toward them; he wasn't in a very good mood. "Popuri you left the gate to the chicken pen open _again_!" The smile faded immediately from Popuri's face and she looked down at the ground. "I know Rick, I'm sorry. But Jack here found Flower, so it's ok." "No it isn't Popuri." Rick replied "You do this all the time, one day we'll loose a chicken, then what Popuri." "I said I'm sorry Rick." Popuri said. She grabbed Jacks arm and lead him toward the house. "That's Rick, he's my brother, don't mind him Jack."

Popuri talked like what her brother said hadn't bothered her but Jack could tell by the look on her face it had. They entered the house; it was cozy and made Jack feel very comfortable. A woman with pink hair like Popuri's stood up from behind a counter. "Who's your friend Popuri?" she asked. "This is Jack from the farm down the road, Jack this is my mother Lillia." "Nice to meet you." said Jack and Lillia at almost the same time. "He's the one you baked the pie for Popuri, right?" Popuri nodded.

"How is farm life so far Jack?" Lillia asked "Have you got your seeds planted yet?" That jarred Jack's memory. Seeds, He hadn't planted yet. He hadn't even finished clearing the field. "Oh gosh, I forgot to plant the seeds I bought. I'm sorry but I better go home and plant them." "That's alright." said Lillia. "Popuri why don't you walk him home, you're going that way to the store anyway." "ok." said Popuri, and they left.

On the way Jack could tell the argument she had had with her brother was still bothering her. "Are you alright Popuri." he asked "Your brother was a little harsh on you." Popuri was silent for a moment, "He wasn't always like that." she said "Mothers very sick, she got sick a long time ago when I was little. Father left to find a cure for her. It was thoughtful of him but, he left us to run the Poultry Farm all by ourselves. Mother was too sick to work so Rick had to take over. He was young too. He stopped playing with me, and stopped laughing and smiling like he used to. He had to grow up too fast, he's angry at father and sometimes the pressure of supporting Mother and me gets to him and he yells.

"Try not to let what your brother says get to you." Jack said "He's just trying to do what's best for you. He loves you even if he looses his patients sometimes." Popuri looked at Jack "Thanks. That makes me feel a lot better." They walked together until they reached the farm's gate. "Well I have to go now." Popuri said "Thanks again for everything, really." And with that leaned over and kissed Jack on the cheek. Jack turned bright red and Popuri walked away giggling.

Jack stood there for a moment, but then remembered all the work he had to do. Jack worked as fast and hard as he could for the rest of the day. It was almost five o'clock when Jack finished planting. He stood there admiring his work. He was so tired, every muscle in his body was screaming and the next thing he knew Jack was falling to the ground and everything was black.

Authors notes: I'm still undecided which girl Jack will pick in the end. I am open to all suggestions. Thank you.


	6. ch 5

Diary of a Farmer

Chapter 5

Author's notes: I'm so excited. The Harvest Moon for girls games are coming out in the United States in July. The next volumes in all my favorite manga are coming out too. July's going to be one expensive month. I'm glad I have to put my fanfics on I can never get my sister to read them. Its funny, my grandmother is reading this story and likes it a lot; she also finds all the spelling errors spell check doesn't. She was raised on a farm so she's giving me suggestions. On to chapter 5.

I've done it this time, Jack thought to himself. He had been working so hard and then things had gone black. Am I dead? He wondered. Jack opened his eyes slightly and was blinded by a bright light. Yep, I'm dead for sure, there's the bright light. Just then a beautiful girl leaned over him.

"Oh you're awake." She said. He voice was soft and calming, an angel? As Jack's eyes started to focus he saw the light was hanging from the ceiling; he was lying down.

"Where am I?" he managed to say.

The girl smiled. You're at the Mineral Town Clinic, I'm Elli the nurse. You passed out from exhaustion; Zack came by the farm and saw you lying there so he brought you here. How are you feeling?"

"A little tired." Jack replied "I thought I was a goner for a second there." Elli laughed.

A man wearing a white coat entered the room.

"Ah, you're awake. I'm the doctor. You shouldn't push yourself like that. You're alright but try to take it easy for a while. Did you eat today?" Jack shook his head; he had forgotten to eat today.

"I see." said the doctor "You should eat a big breakfast before you do that much work, and take breaks every once in a while."

Jack nodded "I'll remember that."

"You're free to go but its too late for you to walk all the way home, your welcome to spend the night at the clinic." The doctor said.

"I will." Jack replied "Thanks."

The doctor bid Jack and Elli goodnight and headed up the stairs. Elli turned to Jack.

"Are you hungry? You said you hadn't eaten today."

When Jack thought about it he really was hungry. His stomach growled.

"I'll make some sandwiches for us, I haven't eaten much either." Elli walked off and came back shortly with a plate of small sandwiches. "I hope you like egg salad. It's all I had in the refrigerator."

"They're great." said Jack after taking a bite.

The two of them sat there for a while eating there midnight snacks and chatting between bites. He found out Elli had a little brother, Stu, and grandmother, Ellen, who lived in Mineral Town also. She took care of them by earning money working at the clinic. Elli had been raising her brother since he was a baby. They're parents had died and they had come to live in Mineral Town with they're grandmother. Jack wondered how Elli could keep such a cheery face while talking about it all, she was very strong. When they finished Elli went up to her room and Jack feel asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

The next morning Jack woke up around nine thirty thanked the doctor and Elli then headed home. On the way home Jack passed the supermarket. The doctor had told him to eat a good breakfast so Jack decided to go in for a few groceries. No sooner had he opened the door when he heard Karen's voice.

"Jack!" she shouted happily "Where have you been? Are you feeling ok? Zack was in earlier and told us what happened."

"I'm fine Karen." Jack replied.

"I'm glad." said Karen hugging him.

Jack was a little surprised by Karen's actions; she really had been worried.

"Tell me the next time you don't feel well, I'll come take care of you."

Jack smiled; Karen was a very sweet person. As soon as Karen released Jack the bell on the door clanged and Ann walked in carrying a shopping basket.

"Hi Karen!" Ann said cheerfully. She then looked at Jack. "Jack, its great to see you again. Are you feeling ok?"

Ann knew too? Jack thought. Even the smallest news spread very quickly in a little place like Mineral Town; He was only in the clinic one night but everyone was concerned. People were never this nice in the city; Jack had barely known his neighbors back home.

"Yeah, I'm feeling fine now. Thanks for asking Ann."

Ann smiled and giggled softly. "That's good to hear. You have a lot of work to do on the farm, we don't need you getting sick now do we? I'd just have to come down there and take care of you until you felt better."

Ann was cut off by Karen before she could say anymore.

"What did you need ANN!" said an irritated Karen

The air suddenly turned tense. Jack felt a little uncomfortable, Karen sounded like she was jealous.

Ann just smiled "Whoops, almost forgot what I came for. Were out of eggs at the Inn and ya can't make omelets for breakfast without eggs, now can ya?

Karen quickly put a package of eggs in Ann's basket and began escorting her to the door.

"Well Ann I'd love for you to stay and chat but I'm sure there are lots of customers back at the Inn waiting for your famous omelets so let's not keep them waiting."

"But…" Ann weakly protested

"Don't worry, you can pay me later." Karen said closing the door behind Ann.

Ann opened the door again. "Jack!" she called "Come by the Inn for lunch today, my treat." And then closed the door before Karen could say anything. Karen said something under her breath and turned to Jack and smiled.

"Ann's so silly" she said "She talks on and on and forgets what she's supposed to be doing; She's been that way since we were little, we're best friends"

Karen sounded cheerful and relaxed again far from how she sounded only seconds ago.

Jack found all the groceries he needed, said bye to Karen, and headed back to the farm.

Both Karen and Ann had acted rather strangely, especially Karen, and Jack wondered why. Perhaps it had something to do with him. For a moment it had seemed like Ann had been flirting with him and Karen got jealous, but that couldn't have been what happened, could it? Jack didn't feel much like thinking about it anymore all he needed was a quiet day working on the farm.

When Jack arrived home he was surprised to see a brown dog sitting on his porch. Jack was a little worried at first thinking it might be a wild dog but as he got closer Jack saw the dog was groomed and was also wearing a collar.

Must belong to someone in the town, Jack thought. "Hello there." he said smiling at the dog. It began to wag its tail but didn't get up; the dog was quite chubby for its size. Jack extended his hand toward the dog, slowly so he wouldn't startle it. The dog sniffed Jack's hand and then let Jack scratch her head and behind her ears.

"Excuse me." the little voice was almost a whisper.

Jack turned around and saw a little girl standing outside the gate. Her brown hair was braided into to two pigtails which hung down on either side of her face and she had big brown eyes, they looked like doll eyes; In fact she looked like a little doll standing there.

She spoke again "Mister Farmer Sir, that's my doggy."

Jack smiled; she was so shy. He picked up the dog a carried it to the gate.

"It's a very nice dog" he said "What's its name?"

"Hannah." she said

"Oh, what a cute name, what's yours?"

"May."

"That's a very cute name too."

May smiled and giggled a little. "Thanks Mister Farmer."

Jack laughed "My name is Jack."

"Well then thanks Mister Jack. I'm real glad you found Hannah. She's gonna have puppies soon so Grampa and me were worried about her."

"What's your Grandpa's name? I don't think I've met him yet."

"Barley, but I call him Grampa, You can call him Grampa too if you want to."

Jack laughed.

"Well I gotta go home so Grampa don't worry about me too. We live at Yodel Ranch if you wanna come see us, bye bye."

What a cute little girl.

Authors notes: Hey everyone! Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I started writing this chapter before I left on summer vacation but didn't finish. I just got back about a week and a half ago. I was in Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Beijing. The trip was amazing! I want to go back but the only place I'm back at is school. I'm in 10th grade now taking Japanese and AP World History so I might not get to update as often as I'd like to but I'll try my best. Don't worry I WILL finish this story. Thanks everyone for the support and ideas

you give me in your reviews. I've been getting quite a few votes from you all on which girl Jack should choose in the end and I thank you, I'm having a hard time deciding. Also would you prefer him just ending up with just one of the girls or five different endings, one for each girl? I'm looking forward to your reviews! Bye.


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